St. Mark's Parish has served historic [[Camden District, South Carolina|Camden]] District, South Carolina. At present, it falls within the political jurisdiction of&nbsp;[[Sumter_County,_South_Carolina|Sumter]] county.

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'''St. Mark’s Parish's''' first colonial church was built about 1740, near Wright’s Bluff north of the Santee River. During the Revolutionary War British troops destroyed it. A new building was constructed in Williamsburg County in 1809. That church was destroyed by fire. From 1827 to 1828 a new one was rebuilt near Remini on the Clarendon/Sumter border by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. However, this was an unhealthy location. So, it was moved up on the Charleston-Camden Road. But that church was burned in a forest fire a few years later. The current church was built in 1856 in the heart of the Sand Hills.<ref>Cynthia Ridgeway Parker, "St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Pinewood, Sumter County, S.C.," http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~scsumter/pictures/stmark/stmark.html (accessed 6 June 2011).</ref>

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South Carolina's "Anglican parishes were used as election districts and had responsibility for road development, care of the poor, and education."<ref>[http://archives.sc.gov/formation/ "The Formation of Counties in South Carolina,"] at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History website, accessed 21 January 2011.</ref>

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Before the American Revolution, the state church of South Carolina was the [[South Carolina Church Records#Church_of_England_.28Anglican.2C_Protestant_Episcopal.29|Church of England (the Anglican Church, or Protestant Episcopal Church)]]. Besides keeping parish registers, the church kept many records of a civil nature in their vestry books. The Vestry was as much a political body as a religious one. The wardens and commissioners were responsible for the roads, education, the poor and orphans, voting and collecting taxes in addition to their church duties.<ref>[http://archives.sc.gov/formation/ "The Formation of Counties in South Carolina,"] at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History website, accessed 21 January 2011.</ref>

=== Founded ===

=== Founded ===

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*1757

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[[St._Marks_Parish,_South_Carolina|St. Mark's Parish]] (originally in Summerton, Clarendon, SC, now near Pinewood, Sumter, SC) was created in 1757 from the northwest side of [[Prince Frederick Parish, South Carolina|Prince Frederick Parish]] on the far northwest side of [[Craven County, South Carolina|Craven County]].<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "St. Mark's Episcopal Church (Pinewood, South Carolina)" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mark%27s_Episcopal_Church_%28Pinewood,_South_Carolina%29 (accessed 6 June 2011).</ref>

'''Borders:''' [[Prince Frederick Parish, South Carolina|Prince Frederick]] and [[St. Stephens Parish, South Carolina|St. Stephen's]] parishes on the southeast, [[St. Johns Berkeley Parish, South Carolina|St. John's Berkeley Parish]] in [[Berkeley (1682-1768) County, South Carolina|Berkeley (1682-1768) County]] on the southwest, and the [[North Carolina]] line on the northeast.<ref name="1760map">"South Carolina Counties and Parishes - 1760" [map] in ''Carolana'' at http://www.carolana.com/SC/Royal_Colony/sc_royal_colony_counties_parishes_1760.html (accessed 6 June 2011).</ref> In 1767 the northwest half of the parish was split off into [[St. Davids Parish, South Carolina|St. David's Parish]]. In 1768 [[St. Matthews Parish, South Carolina|St. Matthew's Parish]] in [[Orangeburgh District, South Carolina|Orangeburgh District]], and [[St. James Goose Creek Parish, South Carolina|St. James Goose Creek]] became the southwest border.<ref name="1770map">"South Carolina Districts and Parishes - 1770" [map] in ''Carolana'' at http://www.carolana.com/SC/Royal_Colony/sc_royal_colony_districts_parishes_1770.html (accessed 6 June 2011).</ref> For a map, see: [http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/guide/CountyRecords/parishes.htm Early parishes in South Carolina]. An overlay of districts is available at [http://www.carolana.com/SC/Royal_Colony/sc_royal_colony_districts_parishes_1770.html Carolana.com].

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'''Areas Served:''' St. Mark's Parish served:

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:*part of [[Craven County, South Carolina|Craven County]] 1757-1768<ref name="1760map" />

:*parts of [[Richland County, South Carolina|Richland]], [[Claremont County, South Carolina|Claremont]], [[Darlington County, South Carolina|Darlington]], [[Liberty County, South Carolina|Liberty]], [[Williamsburg County, South Carolina|Williamsburg]] counties, and all of [[Clarendon (1785-1800) County, South Carolina|Clarendon (1785-1800) County]] 1785-1800<ref name="1785map">"South Carolina Districts and County - 1785" [map] in ''Carolana'' at http://www.carolana.com/SC/Early_Statehood/sc_statehood_1800_districts_counties_1785.html (accessed 6 June 2011).</ref>

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:*part of [[Salem County, South Carolina|Salem County]] 1792-1800<ref name="1792map">"South Carolina Districts and Counties 1792 to 1799" [map] in ''Carolana'' at http://www.carolana.com/SC/Early_Statehood/sc_statehood_1800_districts_counties_1799.html (accessed 6 June 2011).</ref>

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:*[[Liberty County, South Carolina|Liberty County]] became [[Marion County, South Carolina|Marion County]] 1798-1800<ref name="1792map" />

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:*parts of [[Richland County, South Carolina|Richland]], [[Sumter County, South Carolina|Sumter]], [[Darlington County, South Carolina|Darlington]], [[Marion County, South Carolina|Marion]], [[Williamsburg County, South Carolina|Williamsburg]] counties 1800-present<ref name="1800map">"South Carolina Districts - 1800" [map] in ''Carolana'' at http://www.carolana.com/SC/Early_Statehood/sc_statehood_1800_districts_counties_1800.html (accessed 6 June 2011).</ref>

'''Modern equivalents:''' The original parish covered most of what are present-day [[Clarendon County, South Carolina|Clarendon]], and [[Sumter County, South Carolina|Sumter]], and parts of [[Lee County, South Carolina|Lee]], [[Darlington County, South Carolina|Darlington]], [[Dillon County, South Carolina|Dillon]], [[Horry County, South Carolina|Horry]], [[Marion County, South Carolina|Marion]], [[Florence County, South Carolina|Florence]], [[Williamsburg County, South Carolina|Williamsburg]], and [[Richland County, South Carolina|Richland]] counties.<ref name="1760map" /><ref name="1910map" />

== Resources ==

== Resources ==

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==== Cemeteries ====

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==== Cemeteries ====

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Select graves from St. Mark's Parish Church Cemetery are described at [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2319349&CScntry=4&CSst=43&CScnty=2355&CSsr=101& Find A Grave].

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The tombstones at Richardson Cemetery,&nbsp;a private burial ground within the parish, have been transcribed:

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The tombstones at Richardson Cemetery,&nbsp;a private burial ground within the parish, have been transcribed:

*"Tombstone Inscriptions, Richardson Cemetery: Located in Old St. Mark's Parish; Four Miles Southeast of Remini, Clarendon County, S.C.," ''The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine'', Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jan. 1927):55-68. Digital version at [http://www.jstor.org/stable/27569718 JSTOR]&nbsp;($).

*"Tombstone Inscriptions, Richardson Cemetery: Located in Old St. Mark's Parish; Four Miles Southeast of Remini, Clarendon County, S.C.," ''The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine'', Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jan. 1927):55-68. Digital version at [http://www.jstor.org/stable/27569718 JSTOR]&nbsp;($).

Revision as of 17:49, 6 June 2011

Contents

History

St. Mark’s Parish's first colonial church was built about 1740, near Wright’s Bluff north of the Santee River. During the Revolutionary War British troops destroyed it. A new building was constructed in Williamsburg County in 1809. That church was destroyed by fire. From 1827 to 1828 a new one was rebuilt near Remini on the Clarendon/Sumter border by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. However, this was an unhealthy location. So, it was moved up on the Charleston-Camden Road. But that church was burned in a forest fire a few years later. The current church was built in 1856 in the heart of the Sand Hills.[1]

Before the American Revolution, the state church of South Carolina was the Church of England (the Anglican Church, or Protestant Episcopal Church). Besides keeping parish registers, the church kept many records of a civil nature in their vestry books. The Vestry was as much a political body as a religious one. The wardens and commissioners were responsible for the roads, education, the poor and orphans, voting and collecting taxes in addition to their church duties.[2]

Founded

St. Mark's Parish (originally in Summerton, Clarendon, SC, now near Pinewood, Sumter, SC) was created in 1757 from the northwest side of Prince Frederick Parish on the far northwest side of Craven County.[3]

Resources

Cemeteries

Select graves from St. Mark's Parish Church Cemetery are described at Find A Grave.

The tombstones at Richardson Cemetery, a private burial ground within the parish, have been transcribed:

"Tombstone Inscriptions, Richardson Cemetery: Located in Old St. Mark's Parish; Four Miles Southeast of Remini, Clarendon County, S.C.," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jan. 1927):55-68. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

For an early history of the parish, see Chapter 13, St. Mark's Parish, pages 323-325, in:

Dalcho, Frederick. An Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina from the First Settlement of the Province, to the War of the Revolution; with Notices of the Present State of the Church in Each Parish and Some Account of the Early Civil History of Carolina, Never Before Published. Charleston: E. Thayer, 1820. FHL Film 22657; digital versions at Google Books; Internet Archive.